Around The Railroad

Laser Train Boosts Intermodal Traffic

January 28, 2008 | 09:10 a.m. CST

Reducing transit times by 24 hours and eliminating nearly 130-route miles, Union Pacific's Laser train offers the most direct route from Los Angeles to the Southeast.

Furthering the railroads' commitment to improve capacity, service quality and speed, the new coast-to-coast service shifts domestic traffic to a new, shorter route over the Shreveport, La., gateway, rather than the previously used Memphis, Tenn., gateway.

Investing $26 million in capital improvements made the Laser train possible. UP crews installed:

• Six miles of additional rail and turnouts on the Shreveport industrial lead.
• New turnouts on both ends of Hollywood Yard.
• Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) on the Toyah and Baird Subdivisions, allowing trains to consistently stay above the 22.5 mph velocity goal.
• Nearly 8,800 feet of siding throughout the Toyah Subdivision creating more physical capacity on the network.
• New turnouts and rail on both ends of Reisor Yard.

In addition to the above improvements, crews also eliminated all slow orders on 274 miles of track between Ft. Worth and Morita, Texas.

"Through combined efforts of our Western and Southern regions, Harriman Dispatching Center and Premium Operations Train Management teams, we've been able to provide a fast, reliable and consistent premium service in this important transportation corridor," said Barry Michaels, assistant vice president-premium operations. "Of the total 229 trains we have operated to date, we've averaged 4.6 hours early with an OT performance of more than 91 percent."

Offering rates competitive with other modes of land-based transportation, this strategic route gives Union Pacific an advantage over its competitors, Michaels said. "Our route is 265 miles shorter than our competition, allowing us to furnish superior service to our customers."

The new route supports BlueStreak's SuperFlyer and Expedited products, as well as standard intermodal traffic, and provides service to and from Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Jacksonville, Miss., and Miami, Fla.